


Intelligent Design

by firefly124



Series: 2020 AdventDrabbles [15]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU in which 15x19 made sense and 15x20 didn't happen, Community: adventdrabbles, M/M, Minor Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, Minor Kaia Nieves/Claire Novak
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28306206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefly124/pseuds/firefly124
Summary: Castiel often found himself contemplating in wondrous awe the inventiveness of humanity. And then there were Christmas lights.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: 2020 AdventDrabbles [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050380
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Intelligent Design

**Author's Note:**

> Written to the prompt [guys wrapped in Christmas lights](https://imgur.com/a/RVkgbov) for the [AdventDrabbles community on Dreamwidth](https://adventdrabbles.dreamwidth.org/).

Castiel often found himself contemplating in wondrous awe the inventiveness of humanity. They frequently found such elegant solutions to the desire to accomplish things beyond their physical ability. For all Chuck’s faults, this was one of the most amazing aspects of his creations.

Crafting long, twisty strands of lights in which when one bulb ceased to function, the entire strand and everything attached to it also ceased to function, was not one of humanity’s more inspiring inventions.

There had to be a better way to find the specific bulb that required replacing, but Castiel had wanted to have the whole thing fixed by the time Dean finished cooking dinner. It seemed only fair to take turns preparing the meals, the way they’d all invaded Sam and Eileen’s home. Only those with a knack for cooking were on that particular rotation, though. Dean most definitely made the cut, doing both lunch and dinner today. Castiel most definitely did not.

And so he had removed the light strands from the tree, separated them from one another, determined which strand held the errant bulb, and was now systematically testing each socket with a new bulb. It was an annoying process. The cord insisted upon twisting back on itself as if it simply wished to thwart him, and every time he thought he was free of it, he found himself tangled in it once again. If they needed a semi-sentient net for some future hunt, Castiel knew what he’d recommend they use to create it.

“Dinner’s … uh, hey, Cas. What’cha doing?”

Castiel sighed. “Attempting to fix these lights so they can be returned to the tree in working order.”

“You’ve, uh, got a little something …” Dean plucked at the strand of lights which had somehow managed to end up in Castiel’s hair.

“There is a design flaw in these decorations,” Castiel observed. “Why has no one improved upon this?”

“They probably have, with the pricier brands,” Dean said with a shrug. “Maybe next year we get Sammy some upgraded lights from someplace other than Walmart. Meanwhile, this can wait until after dinner.”

Sam, Eileen, and their various guests had descended upon the kitchen, and were now settling in to various nooks in the living room with their filled plates set on little folding tables that Eileen kept otherwise hidden behind the couch. That was the sort of simple, elegant, and functional approach that Castiel wished someone had applied to these lights.

Castiel attempted to extract himself from his project. Instead, he found that he got Dean more entangled in it with him.

“Awww, aren’t you two adorable,” Claire said as she settled herself and Kaia in a pair of overstuffed chairs opposite them.

Dean flicked out a knife.

“Dean, I believe that may be a slight overreaction …”

With a yank on the whole strand, Dean unplugged the lights, then snick-snicked his way through enough of the wiring that they were soon surrounded by much shorter lengths of it. At least he’d unplugged it first.

“You’re right,” Dean said. “Poor design. We’ll get better ones for next year. Going one strand short won’t kill anybody, and I did not spend the last hour making the best damn lasagna just to have everybody else finish it off before we get any.”

“Uh, yeah,” Sam said. “Totally. Just, you know, please go grab some and eat before you get any hangrier.”

As the brothers bantered, and as he gathered the bits of wire to discard in the waste basket, Castiel found himself grinning. Now _that_ is the sort of simply elegant solution that Castiel deeply admired.


End file.
